After tough year, Anaheim faces 2013 challenges

Anaheim faced its most challenging year in recent memory in 2012, with a series of police shootings and political turmoil that caused demonstrations in the streets and calls to "take back Anaheim."

The loudest protests flared in the heat of the summer – and waned toward the end of the year.

But at the dawn of 2013, the city faces many of the same issues that sparked tensions last year, including whether to approve a tax subsidy to build luxury hotels, continued scrutiny over police shootings and whether to change the way City Council members are elected.

The issues:

$158 million tax subsidy

Last January the City Council voted 3-2 for a tax subsidy worth up to$158 million to build two luxury hotels at GardenWalk, near Disneyland.

The initial meeting was listed as a discussion item and attracted public comments only from supporters. But after the vote, when community members learned about it, the decision sparked outrage.

A group, Take Back Anaheim, which called the tax subsidy a "giveaway" of taxpayer money, collected 15,000-plus signatures seeking a public vote on the issue. Mayor Tom Tait, who voted against the subsidy along with Councilwoman Lorri Galloway, lent support. In the end, it wasn't enough to warrant a ballot measure.

Some community leaders sued the city over the issue. Then in November an Orange County Superior Court judge voided the vote, saying the original agenda item was improperly listed as only a discussion item.

So in 2013 the City Council – which includes two new members – must decide whether to challenge the court ruling, take another vote on the tax-subsidy issue or do nothing and let the deal die.

Police shootings

On July 21, police shot and killed Manuel Diaz, 25, after he attempted to flee from police into an alleyway on Anna Drive – a mostly Latino neighborhood of two-story, aging apartments.

The shooting sparked immediate outrage from neighbors who called it unjustified. Police officers attempted to quell the protest by firing bean-bag rounds into the crowd, which included small children.

A K-9 dog got loose, knocking over a stroller and biting a teenager.

That shooting, the police response and an unrelated officer-involved shooting the next day sparked days of protests and clashes with police.

Tait called for a federal investigation to oversee the standard Orange County District Attorney's Office investigation. The results of that investigation – to determine whether Anaheim officers acted properly – are expected to be released in 2013. Calls for changes in the Police Department and for an oversight committee will likely push on in 2013.

District elections

Anaheim continues to face a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union and Latino leaders who charge that the city effectively "shuts out" Latinos by the way it elects council members.

Last fall, a 10-member advisory panel was named. It is looking at whether Anaheim should change from electing council members at-large (citywide) to voting for them by individual districts. Anaheim has a population that is 53 percent Latino, yet no Latinos sit on the City Council.

The advisory committee is holding monthly meetings to explore district elections and how to encourage more participation in city government, with findings due back to the council in May. But changing the election procedure requires a public vote, or possibly a judge stepping in and making a decision.